Photos taken along the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path in northern Idaho

Friends of the
Coeur d'Alene Trails

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes
Photo Trail

This PHOTO TRAIL follows the scenic
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path
72 miles from Mullan to Plummer.
This presentation organizes Ed Renkey's photos
by location and is a work in progress... a number of photos
are still backlogged awaiting incorporation into
the matrix. Other photos sent to us by members and friends
are present in our Photo Album.

The physically easiest and most historically
relevant way to traverse the entire
Trail is to start in the mining
town of Mullan, six miles from Lookout Pass and the Montana
border. The Union Pacific and it's predecessors hauled ore
from these rugged mountains from 1886 to 1992. They carried
billions of dollars worth of silver, gold, lead and zinc ore
west down the Silver Valley, first to Cataldo on the Coeur
d'Alene River, where it was loaded on steamships that moved
through the chain lake region to Harrison on
Lake Coeur d'Alene. Tracks were then laid to Harrison and
later along the lake shore to Chatcolet Bridge, where they
crossed the lake as the St. Joe River flowed into it. From
there it was seven miles to the railroad hub at Plummer on
the Palouse Prairie.

Clicking
on any of the following images will produce the
larger version (800x600 pixels) in a separate window.
Use this dropdown navigation box to go to the Trailheads and
Wayside Rests shown on the map. Notice that there is no
correlation between the numbers on this map that start in Mullan
and the mileposts which start in Plummer.

Coeur d'Alene River and Trail
between Enaville and Cataldo from a high point on
Wall Road

Wall Road
is but one example of the many mountain bike
adventures available on forest roads and "single track"
trails that intersect the
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.
Some of these are documented and
available
for download as Microsoft Word documents.

looking across Lake Coeur d'Alene at Carey Bay from Sqwe'mu'lmkhw
waysideuse mouseover to see the bayenlarge top photo

looking at Shingle Bay from Sqwe'mu'lmkhw waysideuse mouseover to see the bridgeenlarge top photo

Hndarep wayside and restroom

Chatcolet Bridge from Hndarep waysideuse mouseover to zoom in on bridgeenlarge top photo

the approach to Chatcolet Bridge from the eastern shoreuse mouseover to zoom in on bridgeenlarge top photo

Lake Coeur d'Alene at dusk from east of Chatcolet Bridge

When it was a railroad bridge,
18 feet above the lake,
it was turned by the man who lived in the
house on top of the bridge
to accommodate large boats. Originally scheduled for
completion in the summer of 2003, the now rigid structure
was finally finished and
opened in
April 2004.
It was raised and rebuilt to give a 30 foot clearance to boats and
long access ramps for Trail
users.

Chatcolet bridge from Harrison sideuse mouseover to see bridgekeeper's house

If you begin your adventure at the Plummer Trailhead and Veterans Memorial Park,
you are actually beginning at MilePost -0.7!
MilePost 0 is where the Union Pacific started the Trail
near Plummer Junction. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe added the extension and the Tailhead
a year or two after Union Pacific finished the trail.